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Hampton Phish fan

Hampton's David Kleinman is looking forward to Phish's return to Hampton Coliseum.

Hampton's David Kleinman is looking forward to Phish's return to Hampton Coliseum.

By Sam McDonald, smcdonald@dailypress.com

The famously freaky planet Phish revolves back into Hampton Coliseum's path next weekend, bringing with it a comet trail of fans who love improvisational rock and a sense of far-out fellowship.

Phish, the legendary improvisational rock band led by guitarist and singer Trey Anastasio, kicks off its fall tour with three nights at the Coliseum Friday-Sunday, Oct. 18-20. The shows are to be the group's first concerts at the building since 2009.

Followers are ecstatic.

Harrison Day, a 34-year-old graphic designer from Summerfield, N.C., looks forward to extending his perfect streak. He's attended every Phish show at Hampton since 1997 and he has tickets to all three of the upcoming Coliseum gigs.

"In Hampton, there is an aura about the room," Day wrote in an e-mail. "Stakes rise with playoff intensity. The wave circulates around the old hockey rink before the show, thoughts of its previous history running through its halls. And then there is the difficulty in securing tickets to add significance to the occasion.

The Mothership

"Phish love the older venues that still capture the pristine sound," Day wrote. "The Mothership is about as good as they come."

The Mothership, as fans call the Coliseum, is considered one of best places in the nation to see Phish, a band that started in 1983 at the University of Vermont. Day and other fans say the 43-year-old room sounds surprising good, especially when packed with 12,000 gyrating Phish fans.

In the days before Internet file sharing, fans would trade cassettes of shows, following a pattern started by the Grateful Dead's loyal following.

"There are certain things about the tapes," Day said. "Some of the best sound quality tapes came from Hampton. That's what draws me back. The band takes it to another level there. They know the history as well."

Despite the reputation of Phish fans for drug consumption, bizarre attire and no-holds barred partying, some of the group's most devoted listeners dissect the band's concerts with a sort of scientific fervor.

Hampton resident David Kleinman is an English professor at Thomas Nelson Community College and a Phish aficionado. He's seen the band 88 times and has written about the group for Jambands.com.

Kleinman, 35, traveled to Chicago this summer to see the band and he was surprised to read some negative feedback from fans online. "Some were pretty harsh in their criticism," Kleinman said. "There was a lot of talking smack."

What did the Phish heads find upsetting?

"One of the main things, was this talk about Trey 'pulling the rip cord,' when a jam is starting to develop," Kleinman said. In other words, Anastasio was accused of ending an improvisational section earlier than some fans would have liked.

"They always blame it on Trey," Kleinman said. "I've always seen him as the leader of the band, but once they're on stage, I'm not sure how much of a leader he is … On stage, there's all sorts of communication that we can't pick up on."

At one Chicago concert, the band invited two people from the audience on stage who had been brandishing a sign reading "Poster Nutbag The Right Way!!!" The phrase was a reference to a part of the Phish tune "Harpua."

It turned out that the couple were actors from the Second City comedy troupe, but the audience wasn't initially in on the joke. Phish, it seemed was using its twisted sense of humor to poke fun at its own overzealous fans.

"It seemed they were making a comment to all these critics to let it go," Kleinman said. "The idea that a fan would know better than the band what's the right way rather than the wrong way to do a song. Phish fans feel a sense of ownership, but at some point you have to take a step back and check yourself."

A magical place

Whether or not that sort of band-fan give-and-take spills over into the Hampton shows, Kleinman is excited to hear one of this favorite bands play one of their favorite venues.

"Hampton is still seen as a special, magical place," Kleinman said. "I moved here eight years ago and that was all I knew of Hampton, to be honest. Hampton Coliseum was a place you had to see Phish."

Kleinman is prepared for a wild weekend. "I'll see a lot of people I've known over the years. To me, it's just a dance party. That's also lost in a lot of the discussion of Phish. There are not many large, non-electronic dance parties where you have a live band and there are that many people dancing at the same time. That's what I'm looking forward to."

Nostalgia

With the band's 30th anniversary approaching, the Phish tour brings an extra air of nostalgia.

Stacy Pascarosa, a 44-year-old visual merchandising specialist who lives at Ocean View in Norfolk, has seen the band close to 100 times stretching back to her days as a college student at Radford University.

While in school, she and her friends would take road trips to Washington, D.C., Richmond or Winston-Salem, N.C., to watch the band years before it attracted a horde of followers.

"We went to the first Hampton Coliseum show in 1995 and we were completely blown away by how many people were there," Pascarosa said. She and her friends had experienced the same shock years earlier when they pulled up to find a full parking lot at Ziggy's, a club in Winston-Salem. "We were like, 'Oh, no! Everybody found out about our little secret.' "

Fast forward a few decades and Pascarosa is still devoted to the band even though responsibilities of career and family don't let her chase the band quite as often.

"Now, I have two kids and my busiest time for work is in October," she said. "So I'm working a six-day work week and going to a Saturday night show and calling it good. It was much easier when you were young and single."

The gravitation pull of the Phish world — the dancing, the parking lot vendors, the sense of community — still grabs her even if she can't fully surrender to it. She said she'll attend Saturday's concert with Catherine Schlesser, a friend from her college days.

"In the past, I've taken my brother, who is nine years older than me," Pascarosa said. "I've gone with friends that are 13 years younger than me. I've watched the scene change from people my age to people being way younger than me.

"Once it catches you, you don't ever lose that enthusiasm," she said. "You're kind of hooked, so to speak."

What: Conch & Bucket restaurant is hosting a for-charity poster contest to coincide with the Phish weekend. Artists are invited to submit posters with a design featuring a reference to a Phish song, a nod to Hampton Coliseum and the dates, Oct. 18-20. Posters will be on display at the Conch & Bucket. Prize will be a hand-made trophy designed to resemble the Coliseum.

When: Entries will be accepted through Monday, Oct. 14. Voting will take place in person at Conch & Bucket Oct. 18-20. Votes will cost $1 each with proceeds going to support St. John's Episcopal Church efforts to feed the hungry. Winner will be announced 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20.

Vermont-based improvisational rock band Phish has played Hampton Coliseum 15 times. Most of the concerts have been part of two- or three-night stands. In recent years, the band's visits to Hampton have coincided with key moments in Phish history. Here's a look back.